Allain was soon a thing of the past, and at an all too early hour darkness closed in around us. Mud splashed on the bottoms of the dismounted men's slickers and from these plastered itself in a hard clammy cake all over their spirals from shoe to knee. Feet stuck in the mud and the clinging clay made them well nigh unliftable.

Army slickers are unhappily never known as raincoats. They have in fact the opposite effect from any self-respecting raincoat. They act as one-way valves permitting all the water to enter at an alarmingly efficient manner and allowing never a drop to escape. The cold rain mockingly defied all known laws of gravitation, running up the sleeves as well as down the neck and into the ears.

No supper beautified our mess-kits that night, and the poor beasts plodded along equally supperless.

Eight hours we had dragged our weary, drenched selves and equipment along that mud path when we began to think, "Well, the next town simply must be it!" But the next town appeared, resounded to the noise of moving horses and carriages on its pavements, and disappeared again into the night in which no trace of light could be found.

The loitering hands of watches refused to move. On and on we straggled with equipment bearing heavily down. No cigarette was allowed to bring a bit of comfort. Heavens no! the Hun would see us if we smoked. Blank the Hun, anyway!

Up hill and down dale we traveled on. Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and one o'clock staggered unsteadily by. A rapid, uneven, and most aggravat­

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